Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
2 Chronicles 7:21

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 2 Chronicles 7:21. Shall be an astonishment — The manner in which these disobedient people have been destroyed is truly astonishing: no nation was ever so highly favoured, and none ever so severely and signally punished.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Construction of the temple (2:1-7:22)

With the help of King Hiram of Tyre, Solomon prepared materials and arranged a workforce to build the planned temple (2:1-18; see notes on 1 Kings 5:1-18). Construction went on for seven years, until the temple, its furniture, its courtyard, and all other articles and decorations connected with it were completed according to plan (3:1-5:1; see notes on 1 Kings 6:1-51). The temple was then dedicated to God (5:2-7:22; see notes on 1 Kings 8:1-9).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

GOD'S WARNING TO KING SOLOMON

"But if ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house, which is so high, everyone that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall say, Why hath Jehovah done this unto this land? And they shall answer, Because they forsook Jehovah, the God of their fathers, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them."

This heavenly warning Solomon ignored and continued to do exactly as he pleased without regard to anything except his conceited opinions; and when he became old, his many pagan wives turned his heart away from the Lord; and he built pagan temples for every one of them. This needs no further comment, except to note that the removal of Israel from Palestine and the destruction of their temple indeed took place, exactly as God had warned.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 7

And when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house ( 2 Chronicles 7:1 ).

It's a reminder of the dedication of the tabernacle in the wilderness where the fire of God came down and kindled the coals upon the altar and consumed the sacrifices. And the glory of God filled the tabernacle in the wilderness. And now the same thing happened as God's glory fills the temple.

And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and they worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. And then the people for seven days offered sacrifices unto the LORD. They sacrificed twenty-two thousand oxen, and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So all of the people in the kingdom dedicated the house ( 2 Chronicles 7:2-5 ).

What a barbecue they had!

And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of music to the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all of Israel stood. Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meal offerings, and the fat ( 2 Chronicles 7:6-7 ).

And so they just made a place out to do it in the yard there.

Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. And on the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had showed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people ( 2 Chronicles 7:8-10 ).

So that should be the way people leave the fellowship. Glad and merry in heart for the goodness of God.

And Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. Now the LORD appeared ( 2 Chronicles 7:11-12 )

After the whole celebration and the thing had died down, the Lord then appeared.

to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. And if I shut up heaven that there is no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land ( 2 Chronicles 7:12-14 ).

This promise of God is an answer to Solomon's prayer. As Solomon foresaw the calamities that might befall the nation in their sinning against God, and if they turn and repent and pray, then hear Thou from Thy dwelling place in heaven. God is now answering the prayer of Solomon saying, "If these things come, and if my people who are called by my name will just humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land."

I believe that this scripture today is perhaps one of the most important scriptures to be brought before the people of our nation. The people who have been called by His name. United States has been considered as a Christian nation. I didn't say it was a Christian nation. I said it's been considered as a Christian nation. But how far we have moved from true Christianity. How far we have moved from God in our national life, in our local life. And we see the plague that Solomon could foresee. The judgments of God. It is time for God's people to humble themselves and pray and to seek His face and to turn from their wicked ways, because God will hear. God will forgive. And God will heal the land. That's His promise.

Now my eyes will be open, my ears will be attentive unto the prayers that are made in this place. For I have chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and my eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually. And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and shall observe my statutes and my judgments; then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. But if you turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and you shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and I will make it to be a proverb and a byword among the nations. And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them ( 2 Chronicles 7:15-22 ).

Now God's warning to Solomon. The warning is... It is, first of all, a promise. "Solomon, if you just walk in my ways, I'll keep the covenant of David and I'll prosper you on the throne. But if you forsake Me, Solomon, then I'm going to forsake you. You're going to be cut off and these calamities are going to come. This beautiful house that you've built is going to be ruined. People are going to say, 'How in the world did God allow such desolation to come?' And people will say, 'Because they forsook God.'"

Now many times when God warns us of something, possible danger, we say, "Oh, come, that's all right. I'll never be troubled there, Lord. You know, why don't You save Your breath, God? That's a situation I would never forsake You, Lord." Now the Lord is warning Solomon about forsaking Him.

I have learned to heed every warning God gives, because I have found that I have never fallen but what I wasn't warned of God beforehand. And many times when the warning came, I felt that they were totally unnecessary. I thought, That's an area where I could never trip or be tripped up. But in the scriptures, it is interesting that God seemed to warn people of the very thing that later became their stumbling block. Of the very thing that later on happened. And here is Solomon now still fresh with this glorious experience of the power of God demonstrated. The fire of God kindling the altar and the sacrifice. The glory of God filling the house, the cloud of God and all of this glorious experience and God is saying, "Now, Solomon, don't forsake Me." And I'm sure Solomon in his heart was saying, "Oh God, I could never forsake You. I could never worship other gods. There is no God like unto Thee who keeps covenants and who shows mercy. Lord, I could never forsake You."

But what happened to Solomon? He forsook the Lord and began to worship and serve other gods. Tragic. The very thing that God warned him about was the very thing that he did. And that is so often true. Thus, we need to take heed to every warning that God gives us. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

D. God’s Blessings and Curses 7:11-22

God responded to Solomon’s prayer with a special revelation. He promised to grant the petitions of the people, as Solomon had requested, if they manifested a true heart for Him (2 Chronicles 7:12-14). 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 are a short summary of the message of Chronicles. Raymond Dillard argued that 2 Chronicles 7:14 was also a "charter" for the rest of Israel’s history. [Note: Raymond B. Dillard, "Reward and Punishment in Chronicles: The Theology of Immediate Retribution," Westminster Theological Journal 46 (1984):164-72.]

"This verse [2 Chronicles 7:14] is of vital significance for the Chronicler’s theology. Four avenues of repentance are mentioned that will lead God to forgive and restore. Each of these is taken up at appropriate places in the later narrative of Chronicles, often in connection with one of the remarkable interventions of God." [Note: Thompson, p. 43.]

God would establish Solomon’s kingdom if he fully obeyed God’s Word (2 Chronicles 7:17-18). However, if Solomon proved unfaithful, the nation might go into exile, and Israel’s enemies might destroy the temple (2 Chronicles 7:19-22).

This passage shows how to avoid the consequences of disobedience: submit to God, pray, and repent (i.e., change direction, not just feeling; 2 Chronicles 7:14). This remedy is as applicable today as it was in postexilic Israel and in the days of Israel’s monarchy. The promise that God would "heal their land" ties in with His earlier promise to bless the Israelites’ land with rain and fertility if they obeyed His commandments in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 28:11-12). God has not promised specifically to heal the land of other believers who obey His will for them. However, He has promised to bless generally those who do so (Psalms 1; Matthew 6:33; Galatians 6:7-8; et al.). [Note: See Jonathan G. Taylor, "The Application of 2 Chronicles 7:13-15," Bibliotheca Sacra 168:670 (April-June 2011):146-61.]

"Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple and God’s response to that prayer (2 Chronicles 6:1 to 2 Chronicles 7:22) constitute a kind of ’charter’ for the subsequent history of the nation." [Note: Tremper Longman III and Raymond B. Dillard, An Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 199.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice.   13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;   14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.   15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.   16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.   17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;   18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.   19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;   20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.   21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?   22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

      That God accepted Solomon's prayer appeared by the fire from heaven. But a prayer may be accepted and yet not answered in the letter of it; and therefore God appeared to him in the night, as he did once before (2 Chronicles 1:7; 2 Chronicles 1:7), and after a day of sacrifice too, as then, and gave him a peculiar answer to his prayer. We had the substance of it before, 1 Kings 9:2-9.

      I. He promised to own this house for a house of sacrifice to Israel and a house of prayer for all people (Isaiah 56:7): My name shall be there for ever (2 Chronicles 7:12; 2 Chronicles 7:16), that is, "There will I make myself known, and there will I be called upon."

      II. He promised to answer the prayers of his people that should at any time be made in that place, 2 Chronicles 7:13-15; 2 Chronicles 7:13-15. National judgments are here supposed (2 Chronicles 7:13; 2 Chronicles 7:13), famine, and pestilence, and perhaps war, for by the locusts devouring the land meant enemies as greedy as locusts, and laying all waste. 2. National repentance, prayer, and reformation, are required, 2 Chronicles 7:14; 2 Chronicles 7:14. God expects that his people who are called by his name, if they have dishonoured his name by their iniquity, should honour it by accepting the punishment of their iniquity. They must be humble themselves under his hand, must pray for the removal of the judgment, must seek the face and favour of God; and yet all this will not do unless they turn from their wicked ways, and return to the God from whom they have revolted. 3. National mercy is then promised, that God will forgive their sin, which brought the judgment upon them, and then heal their land, redress all their grievances. Pardoning mercy makes ways for healing mercy, Psalms 103:3; Matthew 9:2.

      III. He promised to perpetuate Solomon's kingdom, upon condition that he persevered in his duty, 2 Chronicles 7:17; 2 Chronicles 7:18. If he hoped for the benefit of God's covenant with David, he must imitate the example of David. But he set before him death as well as life, the curse as well as the blessing. 1. He supposed it possible that though they had this temple built to the honour of God, yet they might be drawn aside to worship other gods, 2 Chronicles 7:19; 2 Chronicles 7:19. He knew their proneness to backslide into that sin. 2. He threatened it as certain that, if they did so, it would certainly be the ruin of both church and state. (1.) It would be the ruin of their state, 2 Chronicles 7:20; 2 Chronicles 7:20. "Though they have taken deep root, and taken root long, in this good land, yet I will pluck them up by the roots, extirpate the whole nation, pluck them up as men pluck up weeds out of their garden, which are thrown to the dunghill." (2.) It would be the ruin of their church. This sanctuary would be no sanctuary to them, to protect them from the judgment of God, as they imagined, saying, The temple of the Lord are we,Jeremiah 7:4. "This house which is high, not only for the magnificence of its structure, but for the designed ends and uses of it, shall be an astonishment, it shall come down wonderfully (Lamentations 1:9), to the amazement of all the neighbours."